By John-Paul Tooth

The Malaga midfielder believes his country have a good chance of defending the Under-21 European Championship trophy in Israel in June

Spain Under-21 star Isco says his side can win this summer's Under-21 European Championship in Israel.

The 21-year-old has gained valuable tournament experience this term in Malaga's run to the Champions League quarter-finals, and now hopes to help his country win the European trophy for the fourth time.

"Playing for the national team is a beautiful experience," the attacking midfielder was quoted as saying on Uefa's official website.

"I think we have a good opportunity to win. We are a team that passes the ball around very well, we score a lot of goals, there is a great team spirit.

"The fact is, we won all our qualifying matches except one, which we drew. So our statistics are very good."

The former Valencia trainee admitted, however, with Russia, Germany and the Netherlands to face in Group B, Spain face a challenging route to the semi-finals.

"They are pretty strong teams so it will be difficult for us," he added. "But we trust a lot in ourselves and in what we've been doing. We hope to make it past the group stage."